Tenth of his eight to douglas wooley



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)-

J. W. GQRHIND. Automatic Switch for Wire-Rope Railroads.

Patented .Iu e 15 1880 i U i In v12 72 to r Xawu /f Witnesses N.PETERS. PHOTO LITHOGRAPH (No Model.) 2 ShBetB- Sheet 2. J. W. G. RHIND.

Automatic Switch for Wire Rope Railroads. No. 228,932. Y Patented June 15, 1880.

wtnesses 1W v a R70 [3m m /1 /W4// Q wze. W

N.PETERS. PHOTO-LITHDGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. n O

Nrr'eD STATES PATENT Creme.

JAMES W. C. RHIND, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONF- TENTH OF HIS RIGHT TO DOUGLAS WOOLEY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH FOR WIRE-ROPE RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent No. 228,932, dated June 15, 1880.

Application filed April 5, 1880. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern: low the car to come over to the other track. 7

Be it known that I, JAMES W. C. RHIND, of The ordinary methods of operating switches the city and county of San Francisco, and automatically will not answer with these ca- State of California, have invented an Autoble roads, since there is no room for automatic 5 matic Switch for Wire-Rope Railroads; and I mechanism, the gripe reaching from the dumhereby declare the following to be afull, clear, my needing a slot through everything in orand exact description thereof. der to pass along, its lower end being always The object of my invention is to provide an below the street-level. An attendant has automatic switching apparatus for that class therefore to run the switch.'

to of railroads known as wire-rope railroads, My invention consists in providing a movawhere the power of propulsion is imparted by ble switch, which is so connected by suitable means of an endless rope. levers under the level of the track that the In the cable or wire-rope railroads the endsaid levers may be automatically moved at the less rope runs down the center of one line of proper time by means of the downward-pro- 15 track and up the center of the other under the jecting gripe, so as to open and close said surface of the street in a suitable tube, power switch at the proper time for both dummy and being applied to the rope by engines at any car, as is more fully described in the accomconvenient point. A dummy or small car panying drawings, in whichcoupled to the passenger-car is provided with Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device.

20 what isknown asa gripe. This gripe passes Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a I down through a slot in the center of the roadmodification. Fig. 4 is a transverse section. way, and is provided with mechanism oper- LetArepresent the right-hand or downward ated from above, by means of which it may be line of track, near the end of the road, where connected with or detached from the moving the transposition of car and dummy with re- 25 rope at will, so as to stop or start the car. lation to each other is made. A bar, B, has a This gripe projects down below the level of pin, 1), which connects with the switch a onthe 7 the roadway at all times, and the dummy on surface. A long straight lever, C, is suitably which it is placed precedes the car. pivoted to the bar B, and in front of this an- At the end of the line it' is necessary for the other lever, C, curved as shown at c, is also 30 car to be passed ahead of the dummy, and the connected with said bar B.

car must therefore be switched off to the other Now, as the dummy D comes down the track first, and the dummy follow it, so as to track in front of the car, the car and dummy come in front on the return trip. The way in are disconnected, the dummy going on ahead, which this is done at present is, that just bethe car being slowed down. As the dummy 3 5 fore reaching the switch the car and dummy passes on the gripe d strikes the long lever C,

are disengaged, and the dummy passes on a and, through the medium of the barB and its short distance ahead over the closed switchpin 1), shifts the switch a point to the branch, point. As soon as it passes an attendant and holds it while the dummy is moving on. shifts the switch, which turns the following As soon as the dummy passes the switch 40 passenger-car off onto the up track, and it runs and goes clear of it, then the same gripe strikes on down to the end of the line, the dummy the curve 0 of the other lever, C, which throws having meantime been stopped. The dummy, the switch open for the siding, and the car with its gripe drawn up clear of the endless coming on down the main track is switched cable, then crosses over by a curved track or off onto its proper track. The car then going 45 another switch and comes in behind the car, down on its proper track to the end, the dumso as to be ahead of it in starting up again. my goes by a curve in the track and comes 5 The switch over which the passenger-car in front of the car, the transposition being goes must be closed to allow the dummy first thus eli'ected without the necessity of any one to pass down the line, and then opened to alhandling the switch. The next dummy which comes down the line, by its gripe d striking the lever G, shifts the switch and again replaces it, as described.

On some of the cable roads the cars of other lines, drawn by horses, pass over the same line of rails or cross off from said lines. It becomes, then, the duty of the cable road to open or close the switches, so the cars of the other line may have unobstructed passage without llEtVil] g to move switches. My system of moving the switches by means of the levers and impinging gripe is here applicable also. I have shown this in Fig. 3. Here one of the levers is extended in length, and the gripe moves the levers so as both to close and open the switch. As the dummy and car come along the track A the gripe, striking the upper lever, closes the cross-line switch a and holds it closed while said dummy and car pass on, the same as hereinbefore described. After both dummy and car have passed, the gripe strikes the lever O at some distance from the switch an d opens said switch a for the horse-car line, leaving it open until the next cable car and dummy come on and repeat the operation. In this way the line is always open for the horse-ear line, the dummy and gripe of the cable line closing its switch at the time it is passing, and immediately opening it for the other road as soon as both dummy and car have passed. This is done automatically, no attendants being required to care for the switches, the wire road maintaining its rightof Way and opening the switches for the other line without fail. Of course, on these cable roads the cars can only travel in one direction on each line of track, as the cable is moving up one line and down the other continually.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a cable railroad in which the cars are provided with a.downward-projecting gripe, cl, so as to be driven by means of an endless rope beneath the roadway, the levers O G, placed below the of the rails and connected with the s\ adapted to be moved by impingement aid gripe d. whereby said switch is auto.v ;'tically opened and closed, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES W. G. RHIND.

Witnesses OHAs. G. YALE, DOUGLAS WOOLLEY. 

